Team USA's Lowell Bailey has said that he is pleased with his performance in the men's 20km individual biathlon race at the ongoing 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
The 32-year-old finished eighth in the event in the Russian city to achieve the best ever Olympic individual finish in US biathlon history.
The display saw Bailey overcome his disappointment of finishing the 12km pursuit on Monday in 38th place.
"From your low to your high, that's biathlon," he told reporters. "That's a textbook definition of biathlon. It's a sport where one day you can be at the bottom and then in a matter of 72 hours, be at the top.
"It's a really hard sport to be perfect in, which is what makes it so exciting. It's why it's the most popular sport in Europe. It's so damn hard. I shot above my average today and skied with the top guys in the world.
"Where I can go wrong is when I can start thinking, 'I need to go out there and win a medal' versus 'I need to go out there and do the best race I'm capable of.' Today, this is the best race I was capable of."
The USA have won 12 medals in Sochi so far.
Subhankar Mondal
